Dáil set to resume after one of the shortest summer recesses

A fortnight ahead of schedule, the Dáil reconvenes today after one of the shortest summer recesses since the foundation of the State.

The House will meet for half a day for a single sitting this week necessitated by the exceptional circumstances of the Oireachtas golf society dinner controversy.

The Dáil had not been scheduled to sit again until September 15th. Opposition politicians had called for an earlier return and for TDs to resume sittings as early as last week.

The fallout from the ill-fated dinner in Clifden – which involved 81 guests – is directly reflected in the agenda for the short sitting.

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin will announce the identity of the new Minister for Agriculture and the Marine – the third person appointed to this position in the past two months.

The second minister to hold the position, Dara Calleary, resigned last month after it was confirmed he attended the dinner, which occurred during a period of renewed restrictions for Covid-19.

His predecessor, Offaly TD Barry Cowen, was sacked after less than three weeks in the job when it emerged he had previously been caught drink driving on a learner’s permit.

Mr Calleary’s successor is expected to be the Donegal TD and Minster for State Charlie McConalogue, who was the Fianna Fáil spokesman on agriculture when the party was in opposition.

Other names that have been mentioned include two Fianna Fáil Ministers of State: the Galway East TD Ann Rabbitte; and the Limerick County TD Niall Collins.

The Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill, a former president of the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association, has also been seen as an outside contender.

In addition to the the announcement, the Dáil will also debate another piece of Covid-19 legislation which will give the Garda Síochána powers to order the closure of pubs and restaurants which are in breach of laws relating to control of te pandemic.

The Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) Bill will allow a Garda Superintendent to authorise the immediate closure of a premises for failure to comply with a direction given by a garda. The closure will be effective for the rest of the day. The Garda can also apply to the District Court for closure orders of up to seven days.

The legislation has been introduced by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee to address a situation that arose this summer where gardaí detected some 165 breaches of Covid-19 guidelines by licensed premises but were not in a position to take enforcement action.

The Green Party will also have a new whip when the Dáil convenes. The Waterford TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh has been appointed to succeed Neasa Hourigan, who resigned as party whip after voting against a Government Bill before the recess.

Patrick Costello, another of the party’s 12 TDs, has joined Ms Hourigan in the Just Transition group within the party. The group has a social justice agenda and has adopted a critical stance to the party’s participation in the three-party coalition.

Opposition parties and TDs have criticised the Government’s decision to reconvene the Dáil for a single sitting this week, dismissing it as gestural.

Sinn Féin TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said: “This is simply not good enough and it is evidence of a Government that is out of touch with the real anger out there and that they still don’t get it.”